How to Clean Shrimp

Cleaning raw shrimp is an essential step for any recipe that calls for this ingredient.

Most of us don’t use raw shrimp very often, especially in cuisines from places far from the sea.

And that’s completely fine. But there are some recipes where store-bought cooked shrimp just isn’t the right choice. In those cases, there’s no way around it: you have to try to get raw shrimp, even if it can be a challenge. And of course, raw shrimp needs to be cleaned before you prepare and serve it.

Tip: If all you can get is frozen raw shrimp, that is perfectly fine too. Thaw it first, then clean it following the steps below.

Raw vs. Cooked Shrimp

Raw shrimp is grayish and slightly translucent, and in most cases it still has its shell and head on.

Cooked shrimp, on the other hand, is usually already cleaned when you buy it, and its color is orange.

So it follows from the above that raw shrimp needs to be cleaned, while pre-cooked shrimp usually does not.

How to Clean Shrimp

These are the steps for cleaning shrimp:

1. Rinse the shrimp.
2. Break off the head with one firm movement. It separates from the body relatively easily. You don’t need the head, so set it aside.
3. Peel the shell off the body. Usually, for presentation purposes—it looks nicer and is easier to hold—the tail and the last section of the shell are left on.
4. A black vein runs along the back of the shrimp, and it needs to be removed. You can sometimes pull it out together with the head, although this doesn’t always work. Otherwise, carefully cut into the back of the cleaned shrimp with a very sharp knife, and use the tip of the knife to pull out the vein. You don’t need it at all, so throw it away.
5. The cleaned shrimp is ready to use.

You don’t need the heads and shells of the shrimp, unless you want to make shrimp stock from them. That’s a great way to preserve the flavor of these otherwise unusable parts.

One Extra Tip

Although it is not directly related to cleaning shrimp, definitely do not overcook this meat. This is the worst thing that can happen to shrimp—you can practically ruin it this way.

Shrimp cooks very quickly, literally in just a few minutes. As soon as it turns orange and opaque, but has not yet started to curl up, it is ready. If it has curled up completely, then it has been overcooked.

How to Clean Shrimp

With these simple steps, I’ll show you how to clean raw shrimp.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• raw shrimp

Instructions

 

• Rinse the shrimp.
  
• Break off the head with one firm movement. It separates from the body relatively easily. You don’t need the head, so set it aside.
  
• Peel the shell off the body. Usually, for presentation purposes—it looks nicer and is easier to hold—the tail and the last section of the shell are left on.
• A black vein runs along the back of the shrimp, and it needs to be removed. You can sometimes pull it out together with the head, although this doesn’t always work. Otherwise, carefully cut into the back of the cleaned shrimp with a very sharp knife, and use the tip of the knife to pull out the vein. You don’t need it at all, so throw it away.
• The cleaned shrimp is ready to use.
  

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